Someone To Come Home To
by DobbyRocksSocks
Summary: Frank let Alice lead him up the stairs. Tonight, he would forget about explosions and night duty. He would forget about Death Eaters and casualties of war. Tonight, he would be a man going to bed with his wife.


**Disclaimer - I own nothing you recognise.**

 **AN - This is a repost. It was posted in a collection called The Shippers Dictionary.**

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 **Someone To Come Home To**

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Frank shifted slightly under the borrowed invisibility cloak he was wearing. The night was wearing on, and it was uncomfortable, crouching in the shadows, watching and waiting for something that might not happen. Auror Night Duty was the worst. His cohort, Micheal Higgins, sat mumbling almost silently to himself about the unfairness of it all.

"Bloody Knockturn Alley all night, I swear, Moody's trying to get us killed," he muttered, nudging Frank slightly with his knee.

Frank chuckled quietly, his hand covering his mouth. Looking around again, it was still deserted, but making a noise when under an invisibility cloak still wasn't advisable.

"He's paranoid, he is," Micheal continued.

"Not really. He's just endured a lot more than we have, and he want's everyone to be careful," Frank reasoned.

"Yeah but come on, Frank, did you hear him today?" Micheal asked, before proceeding with a bad impression of Moody. "Don't blink. Blink and you're dead. They are fast. Faster than you can believe. Don't turn your back. And don't blink. Good luck."

"He wasn't that bad...alright, so maybe he was, but seriously, the man knows what he's on about."

"Hmm." Micheal paused for a moment. "You're not going to tell him I did that, are you?" he asked, and Frank almost laughed again at the slight tremble in his partners voice.

"Well... Of course I won't. Still, you gotta remember Micheal, we're at war."

"Yeah, I know. Can't really miss it, can you? Every day, someone else dies, or goes missing."

Micheal sighed heavily, before he too shifted into a more comfortable position. Time passed, slowly and silently, the two rookie Aurors sighing occasionally but no longer talking. The alley was still. Too still.

Frank frowned. It was almost three am, and he hadn't seen anyone since a little after ten pm. That was unusual in any of the Wizarding streets, but particularly this one, when most business taking place here was done under the cover of darkness. Before he could tell his partner of his thoughts, an explosion on the opposite end of the alley had them flying through the air.

Frank landed with a hard thump, a groan escaping him. Grasping for his belt, he pressed the button to call for emergency back up, and rolled gingerly to his side. Micheal was a little away from him, so Frank pulled himself across the ground, afraid to stand in case Death Eaters were waiting for him. Laying a hand on Micheal's arm, he shook him gently.

"Frank?" Micheal gasped out, and Frank sighed in relief.

"You alright," he whispered, lifting his head slightly to see if he could see anyone. The street appeared to be empty, but Frank knew that that might not be the case.

"I think so," Micheal replied. "You."

"Yeah. I called for back up," Frank murmured, but before he had even finished speaking, apparition cracks sounded all around him. The red cloaks of the Aurors could be seen sweeping the floor around the newcomer's boots, and Frank almost laughed with relief.

"Longbottom, Higgins, you alright?" a calm soothing voice asked above him, and Frank looked up to see Kingsley staring down at him.

"Yeah, we're fine," Frank said, and with effort, he managed to push himself up first into a sitting position, and then stood up.

"Use your portkeys, go back to the office, unless you need to go to St Mungos?"

"No, I'm good. I'll wait at the office. Micheal? You need to go to the hospital?" Frank asked, watching as his partner followed him in getting to his feet, albeit a little unsteadily.

"No, I think I'm fine," Micheal replied, and Kingsley nodded at them both.

"We'll see you back at the office."

.x.

After arriving back at the Ministry, Frank and Micheal didn't have to wait long before the others were back, Moody asking questions as soon as he walked in the room. After explaining what happened, and finally satisfying the hardened warrior, both were dismissed for a nights rest.

Frank had never been so glad to floo into his house as he was that night. It wasn't the house that held his appreciation, rather the someone to come home to.

Alice lay asleep on the settee facing the fire, a book held precariously in place against her chest, a half eaten blueberry muffin on the table beside her. She startled away when Frank stepped from the flames, and taking in his dishevelled appearance, she sat up quickly.

"What happened?" she demanded, standing up and stepping closer to him.

"An explosion in Knockturn Alley," Frank said, pulling her in for a hug.

"You're freezing," she complained, but she didn't move away from him. He nuzzled his face into her hair, taking in the scent that was half conditioner, half purely Alice.

"No one was hurt?" she asked, pulling back from his slightly to look at his face.

He shook his head in the negative and she sighed in relief.

"That's something I suppose. Are you hungry, or thirsty, I could make you -"

Frank cut her off with a well placed kiss to her lips.

"All I want, right now, is you."

She smiled, a wicked smile that made him fall in love with her all over again.

"My, my, Mr Longbottom, are you trying to lead me astray?" she asked, suddenly going over all coy.

He laughed, nudging her with his hip. "Is that what you call it?"

"Whatever it is, I'm looking forward to it. Lets go to bed."

Frank let Alice lead him up the stairs. Tonight, he would forget about explosions and night duty. He would forget about Death Eaters and casualties of war. Tonight, he would be a man going to bed with his wife.

Tonight, he would allow himself some happiness.


End file.
